ATLANTA : Egypt’s dramatic 3-2 defeat by Argentina in the FIFA World Cup round of 16 has sparked debate over two major refereeing decisions, with coach Hossam Hassan accusing officials of unfairly favouring the defending champions.
Hassan and the Egyptian Football Association have criticised French referee François Letexier and the VAR team following the match, although FIFA has not commented on the allegations.
Below are the two incidents at the centre of the controversy:
Disallowed Egypt goal
Egypt thought they had doubled their lead when Mostafa Ziko finished a swift counter-attack after his side regained possession.
Following a VAR review, however, Letexier ruled out the goal for a foul by Marwan Attia on Argentina defender Lisandro Martinez in the build-up, determining that Attia had pulled Martinez before stepping on his foot.
The decision drew criticism from Egypt, with players, pundits and supporters arguing the incident occurred well before the goal and deep inside Egypt’s own half, raising questions over whether it should have been considered part of the attacking phase that led to the score.
Under FIFA’s VAR protocol, officials may review offences committed during the attacking phase of play leading directly to a goal, but determining where that phase begins is ultimately a judgement made by the match officials.
Although Ziko later scored to give Egypt a 2-0 lead, critics argued the earlier disallowed goal could have significantly altered the course of the match.
Penalty appeals rejected
The second major flashpoint came late in the game when Egypt appealed for a penalty after Mohamed Salah went down in the Argentina penalty area following challenges involving Julian Alvarez.
Referee Letexier allowed play to continue, and VAR did not recommend an on-field review.
Egypt argued there was both a shirt pull and contact on Salah that warranted a penalty, while critics questioned why VAR intervened in the earlier build-up to Egypt’s disallowed goal but not in this incident.
Argentina subsequently launched the attack that ended with Enzo Fernandez scoring the stoppage-time winner.
Broader criticism
Egypt also questioned several other refereeing decisions, including disciplinary calls they believed favoured Argentina.
Hassan said after the match that his side had been treated unfairly, while the Egyptian Football Association has reportedly submitted a formal complaint to FIFA seeking a review of the officiating team.
FIFA had not publicly responded to the complaint or Hassan’s remarks at the time of writing.
While the decisions have generated widespread debate, neither FIFA nor the match officials have indicated that any errors were made during the game.
